“I just think it’s time,” Steve told E! News. “I want to fulfill my contract. When I first signed on I had a contract for seven seasons, and this coming year is my seventh. I just thought it was time for my character to go.”

“It doesn’t certainly mean the end of the show. I think it’s just a dynamic change to the show, which could be a good thing, actually,” the actor said. “Add some new life and some new energy…I see it as a positive in general for the show.”

“I didn’t see it as a huge thing and I certainly didn’t anticipate any sort of hubbub over it,” Steve continued on his departure from the show after the 2010-2011 season. “I’m just not going to extend my contract, but I didn’t see it as a huge deal. And the show is great, and the ensemble is so strong, and the writers are great, so it’s just one part of that ensemble drifting off. They’ve incorporated so many new characters and so many new, great storylines that I have no doubt it’ll continue as strong if not stronger than ever.”